Civil Disobedience 2011; Standing up to the TSA

In 1848 Henry David Thoreau wrote "Civil Disobedience," his words hold a special significance for those of us who embrace freedom in this new age of governmental tyranny.

Those who while they disapprove of the character and measures of a government, yield to it their allegiance and support are undoubtedly its most conscientious supporters, and so frequently the most serious obstacles to reform.

Over the years we have seen our freedoms restrained and curtailed by an increasingly oppressive central government and since the current administration came to power the process has been accelerating at break-neck speed. Barack Hussein Obama and his comrades are on an unholy quest to remake America in their own Marxist image and our elected leaders have as yet offered scant resistance.

Fear and intimidation have become the preferred means of controlling the people and forcing them to comply with an ever increasing encroachment on our personal liberties. In 1776 John Adams wrote his "Thoughts on Government" and issued a warning that Mr. Obama had best take note of.

Fear is the foundation of most governments; but it is so sordid and brutal a passion and renders men in whose breasts it predominates so stupid and miserable that Americans will not be likely to approve of any political institution which is founded on it.

Lately a growing number of our fellow Americans have found the courage to speak out and stand up for the cause of liberty. We are witnessing a great reawakening of our American spirit in these troubling times and we are discovering new heroes in the battle to preserve our national character and our sacred way of life.

A 41-year-old Clarksville woman was arrested after Nashville airport authorities say she was belligerent and verbally abusive to security officers, refusing for her daughter to be patted down at a security checkpoint.

Andrea Fornella Abbott yelled and swore at Transportation Security Administration agents Saturday afternoon at Nashville International Airport, saying she did not want her daughter to be "touched inappropriately or have her "crotch grabbed," a police report states.

After the woman refused to calm down, airport police said, she was charged with disorderly conduct and taken to jail. She has been released on bond.

[...]

"(She) told me in a very stern voice with quite a bit of attitude that they were not going through that X-ray," Sabrina Birge, an airport security officer, told police.

"No, it's not an X-ray," she told Abbott. "It is 10,000 times safer than your cell phone and uses the same type of radio waves as a sonogram."

"I still don't want someone to see our bodies naked," Abbott said, according to the police report.

At one point, Abbott tried unsuccessfully to take a video with her cellphone.

Although it may not have been the wisest course of action for Ms. Abbott to yell and swear at the TSA agents and I would not condone the verbal abuse of anyone who is merely following orders and attempting to comply with the requirements of their job, the continual abuse of the public at the hands of government officials is bound to elicit such behavior. Grandmothers, children and people with disabilities are routinely subjected to highly intrusive procedures in our airports while individuals who would fit the terrorist profile are waived through the checkpoint as those charged with our public safety religiously follow the politically correct and dangerous doctrine of the TSA.

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free. - Ronald Reagan

In 1848 Henry David Thoreau wrote "Civil Disobedience," his words hold a special significance for those of us who embrace freedom in this new age of governmental tyranny.

Those who while they disapprove of the character and measures of a government, yield to it their allegiance and support are undoubtedly its most conscientious supporters, and so frequently the most serious obstacles to reform.

Over the years we have seen our freedoms restrained and curtailed by an increasingly oppressive central government and since the current administration came to power the process has been accelerating at break-neck speed. Barack Hussein Obama and his comrades are on an unholy quest to remake America in their own Marxist image and our elected leaders have as yet offered scant resistance.

Fear and intimidation have become the preferred means of controlling the people and forcing them to comply with an ever increasing encroachment on our personal liberties. In 1776 John Adams wrote his "Thoughts on Government" and issued a warning that Mr. Obama had best take note of.

Fear is the foundation of most governments; but it is so sordid and brutal a passion and renders men in whose breasts it predominates so stupid and miserable that Americans will not be likely to approve of any political institution which is founded on it.

Lately a growing number of our fellow Americans have found the courage to speak out and stand up for the cause of liberty. We are witnessing a great reawakening of our American spirit in these troubling times and we are discovering new heroes in the battle to preserve our national character and our sacred way of life.

A 41-year-old Clarksville woman was arrested after Nashville airport authorities say she was belligerent and verbally abusive to security officers, refusing for her daughter to be patted down at a security checkpoint.

Andrea Fornella Abbott yelled and swore at Transportation Security Administration agents Saturday afternoon at Nashville International Airport, saying she did not want her daughter to be "touched inappropriately or have her "crotch grabbed," a police report states.

After the woman refused to calm down, airport police said, she was charged with disorderly conduct and taken to jail. She has been released on bond.

[...]

"(She) told me in a very stern voice with quite a bit of attitude that they were not going through that X-ray," Sabrina Birge, an airport security officer, told police.

"No, it's not an X-ray," she told Abbott. "It is 10,000 times safer than your cell phone and uses the same type of radio waves as a sonogram."

"I still don't want someone to see our bodies naked," Abbott said, according to the police report.

At one point, Abbott tried unsuccessfully to take a video with her cellphone.

Although it may not have been the wisest course of action for Ms. Abbott to yell and swear at the TSA agents and I would not condone the verbal abuse of anyone who is merely following orders and attempting to comply with the requirements of their job, the continual abuse of the public at the hands of government officials is bound to elicit such behavior. Grandmothers, children and people with disabilities are routinely subjected to highly intrusive procedures in our airports while individuals who would fit the terrorist profile are waived through the checkpoint as those charged with our public safety religiously follow the politically correct and dangerous doctrine of the TSA.

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free. - Ronald Reagan